At Mossleigh grain elevators
Collecting food for her babies
Old cabin on Gottlob Schmidt's (Schmitty's) land
Antelope Hill Provincial Park
A highlight from yesterday - Amanita muscaria
Old glass doorknob
A surprise on the trail - a Tomato hornworm
Rural decay
Gottlob Schmidt's Antelope Hill Ranch
Purple Prairie Clover
Great Gray Owl on a rainy day
Juvenile Swainson's Hawk
Little red cabin
Shakin' all over
White Evening Primrose / Oenothera caespitosa
Mature age in the world of fungi
Osprey family in the city
A well-decorated fence
Growing on a log
A favourite bird to photograph
White Prairie Clover / Dalea candida
Eye-catching fungus
Storm clouds over Canola
Longhorn
Weathered and patched
Western Kingbird
Swainson's Hawk
Mariposa Lily
American Kestrel
Upland Sandpiper
Bright and cheery in its old age
Hiding in the Canola field
01 Middle Lake, Bow Valley Provincial Park
02 Colourful Dock sp.
Little mystery bird - juvenile Yellow-rumped Warbl…
Swainson's Hawk
Thimbleberry / Rubus parviflorus
Brown-headed Cowbird juvenile
Kirkpatrick elevator, near Drumheller
Roadside wild sunflowers
Juvenile Horned Lark
Bear Grass / Xerophyllum tenax
Yellow and blue
Beautiful old house in the hills
Black-crowned Night-heron
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Swainson's Hawk in flight
This beautiful Swainson's Hawk shrieked and shrieked, both when it was perched on a fence post and when it was circling rather low overhead, which it did for quite a while. I was in a vast area of bare hills without a tree to be seen anywhere, so it's not as if I was near a nest without knowing it. My first reaction was that maybe it was a juvenile letting its parents know that it was hungry, but I don't know enough about hawks to know how to tell if this is a juvenile or adult. I so rarely take and post any in-flight shots, but I thought this one was fit enough to be posted.
Wednesday, 20 July 2016, was a day of adventure for me. I drove further than I have ever driven before (way, way SE of the city) - must remember to check my mileage when I next go out in my car, but it must have been somewhere between 400 and 500 km total at least. No big deal for many of you, but for me (and as someone with a driving phobia), it WAS a big deal : ) I was totally exhausted and my poor shoulder rotator cuffs were complaining like crazy. BUT, I had a great time - just a couple of moments of 'panic', when I thought I was lost, and when I noticed that I was seeing different wildflowers and definitely a different landscape.
I eventually left home at 11:00 am, a good couple of hours later than I had intended. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get to where I wanted to get, so had wanted to allow plenty of hours for this journey. I had been on the road for about three hours by the time I got there, but did stop at various places en route. The first part of my drive was along familiar roads - called in at Frank Lake just to check the gravel road leading to the gate. An Eastern Kingbird was the only species I saw.
From there, I kept driving east on h'way 23, stopping briefly to photograph one of my favourite old houses. This highway eventually bends southwards and leads to Vulcan. I had only ever once driven as far as Vulcan, and that was on 30 March 2015. I had to stop again, like last year, and take a few photos of the cluster of old sheds, barn and house on the edge of Vulcan, before continuing on my way. From here until I reached my destination, was all new to me. Exciting and anxiety-causing, all at the same time. I drove further east and then turned south and found myself in a different kind of landscape, with a few interesting birds and plants to see and photograph, including a Ferruginous Hawk (three, actually) and wild sunflowers that lined the edge of one of the roads. I was barely able to get a photograph of these bright beauties, as it was so windy. I was in tall wind turbine country - which told me how far south I had come. The colours of some of the fields were unusual, too. Along one road, I had a Swainson's Hawk who perched nicely on a fence post at first and then circled overhead and followed my vehicle further down the road. Think it may have been a juvenile, screeching for its parents to come and feed it. Also saw a Mourning Dove on a fence post and what turned out to be a juvenile Horned Lark. Actually, there were a lot of Horned Larks this day. I tend to forget that we can see them in summer time.
After travelling westwards and then north and west again, I found myself heading towards Frank Lake. It was along this road that I spotted some kind of shorebird perched on a fence post. Too late to stop, so I turned around and then slowly drove back to the bird - a Marbled Godwit, giving me a nice, sideways pose. It was still daylight, so I decided to try one more time along the gravel road leading to the gate at Frank Lake. Here, I had another nice sighting - friend, Debbie : ) Good to see you and have a nice, long chat. A great day with an enjoyable ending.
Total distance, round trip, was something like 480 km. (298.3 miles).
Wednesday, 20 July 2016, was a day of adventure for me. I drove further than I have ever driven before (way, way SE of the city) - must remember to check my mileage when I next go out in my car, but it must have been somewhere between 400 and 500 km total at least. No big deal for many of you, but for me (and as someone with a driving phobia), it WAS a big deal : ) I was totally exhausted and my poor shoulder rotator cuffs were complaining like crazy. BUT, I had a great time - just a couple of moments of 'panic', when I thought I was lost, and when I noticed that I was seeing different wildflowers and definitely a different landscape.
I eventually left home at 11:00 am, a good couple of hours later than I had intended. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to get to where I wanted to get, so had wanted to allow plenty of hours for this journey. I had been on the road for about three hours by the time I got there, but did stop at various places en route. The first part of my drive was along familiar roads - called in at Frank Lake just to check the gravel road leading to the gate. An Eastern Kingbird was the only species I saw.
From there, I kept driving east on h'way 23, stopping briefly to photograph one of my favourite old houses. This highway eventually bends southwards and leads to Vulcan. I had only ever once driven as far as Vulcan, and that was on 30 March 2015. I had to stop again, like last year, and take a few photos of the cluster of old sheds, barn and house on the edge of Vulcan, before continuing on my way. From here until I reached my destination, was all new to me. Exciting and anxiety-causing, all at the same time. I drove further east and then turned south and found myself in a different kind of landscape, with a few interesting birds and plants to see and photograph, including a Ferruginous Hawk (three, actually) and wild sunflowers that lined the edge of one of the roads. I was barely able to get a photograph of these bright beauties, as it was so windy. I was in tall wind turbine country - which told me how far south I had come. The colours of some of the fields were unusual, too. Along one road, I had a Swainson's Hawk who perched nicely on a fence post at first and then circled overhead and followed my vehicle further down the road. Think it may have been a juvenile, screeching for its parents to come and feed it. Also saw a Mourning Dove on a fence post and what turned out to be a juvenile Horned Lark. Actually, there were a lot of Horned Larks this day. I tend to forget that we can see them in summer time.
After travelling westwards and then north and west again, I found myself heading towards Frank Lake. It was along this road that I spotted some kind of shorebird perched on a fence post. Too late to stop, so I turned around and then slowly drove back to the bird - a Marbled Godwit, giving me a nice, sideways pose. It was still daylight, so I decided to try one more time along the gravel road leading to the gate at Frank Lake. Here, I had another nice sighting - friend, Debbie : ) Good to see you and have a nice, long chat. A great day with an enjoyable ending.
Total distance, round trip, was something like 480 km. (298.3 miles).
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